by Rev Pressley Sutherland

There is a story in Matthew 14:13-21 where thousands of people are gathered and hungry because they have followed Jesus to a deserted place. He had launched himself out into a boat in order to have some solitude, but when he saw that the crowds followed, his heart went out to them and he came back ashore to be among them. Jesus brought healing, and he must have told many that their faith had made them whole (complete).

When evening came, everyone was hungry and the disciples were worried. They asked Jesus to send the crowd away so that they may go to the villages and buy food. Instead Jesus told the disciples to gather what they had among themselves—a paltry five loaves and two fish—and give it to the people. This must have seemed the height of lunacy to the disciples! Upon being blessed, the bread and fish were shared, feeding them all until they were filled. There were twelve full-to-the-brim baskets left over.

Numerologists have great fun with this story. It is infused with familiar biblical numbers—2, 5, 7, 12, 5000. Each number carries various representational significance depending on your sources of study: 2, a number sometimes identified with Word; 5, identified with teaching; 7, the perfect joining of 3 (the Divine) with 4 (the earth/creation); 12, the number of harmonic order and righteous authority (3 multiplied by 4); 5000, 50 (restoration and justice) multiplied by 10 (universal law/Divine perfection). It is fantastic stuff, and well worth interfaith, mystical exploration. But how much of this code would we have understood as 1st century AD Jewish listeners?   We can only imagine!

The story of the feeding of the five thousand (and many more when women and children are counted) resonates with implications we yearn to explore today. There are so many points of entry. One of the best ways we bring scripture alive is through imagining ourselves in every aspect of the story—What might we have been thinking or feeling if we were the disciples, the crowd, or Jesus in this story? How do we see ourselves if we are in the crowd, and why are we there, so far from home?

Today, when I read this story, I am struck by how people complete one another through compassionate sharing. Compassion will not allow Christ to stay out in his boat for long. His heart leads him back into this community of people who have all sorts of sicknesses, needs, hopes, and histories. The community responds with steadfastness—they choose to stay with Christ and one another long after it is sensible to do so, long after their personal miracles have happened. The disciples have compassion and worry that the people will go hungry. Christ tells them that if compassion moves you, never feel that you don’t have enough to make a difference. Give what you have in genuine concern and the alchemy of faith will complete your sharing. Twelve overflowing baskets would be a sign to each disciple of the fullness of our potential to bless one another against seemingly insurmountable odds. This is how the Realm of God is completed among us.

Increasingly desperate voices from Zimbabwe, the 07-07-07 Campaign giving voice to lesbian and bisexual women raped and at risk in South Africa, the Sharia trials of gay men in Bauchi, Nigeria—these are examples of tangible places where we can allow compassion to move us back to shore.  Food and emergency provisions, funding for safe houses for women, funds to help provide legal representation--all are ways we can complete one another.  I sometimes wonder what would happen if even a few people genuinely believed that thousands would be completed and fed with nothing more than what is already in our hands.

A few years ago this was the slogan for a gay rights organisation in the US: ‘Everyone has the right to give.’ Compassionate sharing is a great place to begin the journey toward completeness—for ourselves and for others. At its heart, the message of Christ for everyone is that we are completely empowered to make a profound difference with our lives.

If you are interested in finding ways to be part of the work of compassionate completeness, along with contacting GHMCC, these links might be helpful to you:

• 07-07-07 Campaign of the Joint Working Group
• SHADE (Sojourner, Help, Advocacy, Development, Education)
• House of Rainbow MCC Bauchi Report and Fundraising Links